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The mass market. Pop culture. Mainstream demographics. These terms do not have the same meanings as they once did, and it’s even debatable whether they’re even relevant anymore. Now more than ever before, people are independent thinkers. Blame the Information Age. Blame the Long Tail. Blame Apple for telling us to “Think Different©.”

People will not be lemmings anymore that will blindly follow an arbitrary direction from an authority figure. They will instead follow a cause, a vision, a dream that speaks to them. So you want people to follow you? Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way anymore. So you want to share a new dream, a new vision of a better world for others to pursue with you? OK, now you’re talking.

Once you have the vision, you have the most important ingredient of a transformational change. However, an idea with no action is in reality, nothing. As Gandhi has said, “We must become the change we want to see.” To spread this vision and share it with others, you will have to be a leader. Not necessarily a manager - someone that tells people what to do, but a leader - someone that inspires people to do what they do.

The Traits of Leadership
A manager that has the ability to inspire is a leader manager. According to John C. Maxwell, the author of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, there are five characteristics of a leader manager:

1. They are long-term thinkers that think beyond the immediate or short-term goals.
2. Their interests are not just within their own group. They also want to know how their group affects others within the bigger organization, and they constantly reach beyond their specific areas of influence.
3. They put heavy emphasis on vision, values, and motivation.
4. They have strong political skills to handle conflicting needs from various parties.
5. They don’t accept the status quo.

In Transforming Leadership by Pulitzer Prize winner James MacGregor Burns, the truly transformational leaders do not impose their own will, but instead embrace a universal truth greater than them which others can also embrace, and he uses historical examples such as Aristotle, Elizabeth I, George Washington, and Gandhi. The review from the New York Times summarized it best: “Mr. Burns calls the reader’s attention to a paradox at the heart of all leadership: that the best leaders often follow an agenda set by their followers… this insight leads to the broad declaration that ‘all leadership is collective.’”

If you are in a position where you manage people, simply telling them what to do is the easiest way to get things done. However, if you are leading a team with a goal or a mission that needs to succeed, you must not just manage them, but you will also need to lead them, to inspire them, if you want to make that transformational change.

Further Readings
The following are additional articles on leadership:

• The Qualities of a True Leader - The Synergy Institute
• The seven secrets to vision - Slow Leadership
• What Makes the Difference in Visionary Leadership? - Brain Based Biz
• Right Direction - Slow Leadership